SAINT-EMILION
cHâTEAU
BALESTARD LA TONNELLE
classified great vintage
Commitments
The CAPDEMOURLIN family has been established in Saint-Emilion for over 400 years. Preserving our heritage and passing on to future generations a lasting work tool is a priority.
Ethics
The spirit that guides the work at Château Balestard La Tonnelle is to make wines with a strong identity. Everything is done, from the work in the vineyard to the vinification and maturation of the wines, to offer wines with a strong personality. Vintage after vintage, the same ethic continues: one wine, one terroir.
Eco-responsible
In the quest for quality products and respect for the environment, Château Balestard La Tonnelle has made strong and rigorous choices in the management of the vineyard.
Biodiversity
The monocultural character of the vineyard requires the winegrower to think about how to develop biodiversity in the vineyards and thus reconnect with nature. Indeed, monoculture systems are more fragile and vulnerable to diseases. Cultivated areas suffer more aggression and damage, while the natural environment is rarely affected. It is therefore necessary to implement actions to develop biodiversity in the vineyards in order to find an ecological balance
ethics
The HVE label is an environmental certification resulting from the Grenelle de l’Environnement and awarded to farms that respect a certain level of environmental practices.
The HVE label is part of a societal and environmental approach.
This label includes different aspects: biodiversity, the use of phytosanitary products, the use of water resources and fertilization management.
an environmental approach
Preserving the environment is a primary commitment, which we attach great importance to in our operations.
In 2019, Château Balestard La Tonnelle was certified HVE High Environmental Value. The specifications for this standard are precise and demanding, favouring a more sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture.
Biodiversity is at the heart of the process. Natural areas within the plots and around the farm (grassing, ploughing…) are thus put forward.
Environmental management system
The Capdemourlin vineyard team is committed to preserving the environment by improving the vineyard management and the infrastructure of the winery to preserve nature. The objective is to preserve a heritage of over 400 years.
The EMS is an approach based on compliance with the ISO 14001 standard and French regulations. In concrete terms, it is a management tool for the company, aimed at continuously improving its environmental performance. The company assesses the impact of its activities on the environment, sets objectives and gradually and sustainably reduces its impacts.
THE EMS
ON THE SOCIAL LEVEL
Supporting the development of the skills of the operating teams
Strengthen the safety of working conditions
Raising employee awareness of an environmental approach
on the environmental level
Grassing in the vineyard
Reduce the use of phytosanitary products
Observe the vineyard with a weather station
Sorting waste
Using geothermal energy
Set up water consumption indicators
Clearly display instructions
Storing plant protection products
economically
To perpetuate the company
Integrate the requirements of sustainable development
Responding to new consumer expectations
eco-responsible
Beyond eco-design, the Capdemourlin family wanted to think sustainable and responsible when they imagined their new winery. The bioclimatic approach conceived by the trio of architect, design office and project manager, combined reflection on the building (orientation of the building, type of insulation chosen, shading of the building by an arbour, …) and the use of efficient technical equipment to satisfy the needs inherent to the human activity and to the wine-making process.
Because of its location on the hillside, visible from the entire northern valley, it was important to minimize the impact of the building and to ensure the visual and landscape continuity of the site.
Designing a bioclimatic winery required taking into account several parameters: analyzing the land, designing a good compactness, carefully insulating, integrating and making the most of the sun’s path, sizing and arranging the openings, and choosing the appropriate materials.
concrete
the stone
metal
The wood
A vegetated terrace has been installed above the barrel cellar.
This space, which was the subject of a study by a landscape architect, acts as a filter above the existing north façade, attenuates the influence of the floor and creates a visual continuity with the terraced garden of the château. As a result, the projected extension is in the background, set back from the original stone façade, which retains its original primacy.
Moreover, wishing to inscribe the building in a sustainable development approach, the creation of a vegetated space contributes to thethermal insulation of the barrel cellars by limiting the contribution of heat, in particular by the inertia of the earth kept wet, by the recovery of all the rainwater from the roofs.
This bioclimatic design and its various solutions implemented in addition to the thermal regulations, allow us to save energy by about 50% compared to a building with a more traditional design.
an innovative winery
The new eco-responsible winery has all the environmental assets in its favor. It allows to work in the best conditions.
An eco-responsible winery
Several parameters in the construction were taken into account during the creation of this new winery: location, orientation of the building; materials used; waste management; energy use; water use and good management of effluents; ease of use of production tools; ease of maintenance and durability of the construction; management of the soundproofing of the equipment.
Harvest reception
Always with the aim of guaranteeing simplified maneuvers as well as a great quality in the chosen materials, the building’s forecourt as well as the reception area for the grape harvest covered by the canopy, has been provided with a floor of Napoleon III sawn paving stones to ensure optimum hygiene.
Gravity
Built on several levels, the cellar uses gravity as a principle for the circulation of wines. The vinification, from the reception of the grapes to the pouring into barrels, is done in a gravitational way in order to preserve the quality of the grapes and the juice.
biodiversity
In recent years, agriculture has been damaging the ecological balance. The preservation of biodiversity has thus become a major concern for the entire profession. Like any agricultural activity, viticulture has an impact on the landscape, the environment, the quality of waterways and the environment in general. By many means, viticulture can contribute to the return of these balances and notably to the preservation of species.
The policy of Château Balestard La Tonnelle in the field of biodiversity is to engage in daily actions to maintain the fauna and flora.
Grassed area
In vineyards, grassing has many agronomic and ecological interests: Improvement of soil structure and bearing capacity
- Erosion control: facilitates water infiltration into the soil and acts as a filter
- Decrease in vine vigor by reducing vegetative growth
- Decreased susceptibility to certain diseases: in particular botrytis, mildew and powdery mildew
- Improvement of the organic matter rate
- Increased biodiversity in the grassy area but also in the soil (promotes biological activity in the soil) and the surrounding areas.
Grassed areas are a major asset to promote biodiversity. When the spontaneous flora is favored and managed in an optimal way, the number of plant species increases greatly, thus constituting a diversity of habitats and micro-habitats that are indispensable for fauna and especially for invertebrates.
